ACC Football Power Rankings: Week 12

Who are the risers and fallers in the ACC Power Rankings?

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Nov 12, 2023 1:21 PM EST

In this story:

There are only two weeks left in the regular season, but the ACC is still a mess after you get past Florida State.

Louisville is a win against Miami away from being in the ACC title game against Florida State, but the Cardinals struggled to beat a Virginia team that just lost 45-17 to Georgia Tech. Louisville is a good team, but they are very inconsistent.

North Carolina was able to beat Duke and keep their slim hopes of an ACC title birth alive. Clemson won big over Georgia Tech, Florida State avoided a Miami upset, and NC State continues to have a good season.

So how do the ACC power rankings look with two weeks to go in the regular season?

14. Pitt (2-8)- Last week: 14

Pitt lost to Syracuse yesterday and could not stop the run. The Panthers could not move the ball on offense and committed four turnovers and it was just a repeat of what has gone on this entire season. Pitt closes the season with games against Boston College and Duke and I am not confident in them winning either of them.

13. Virginia (2-8)- Last week: 11

Virginia was on the verge of upsetting Louisville and shaking up the ACC Championship race, but UVA could not get it done, and now they have two games before their season is over. Aside from the Georgia Tech game, Virginia has played well over the last month, beating North Carolina and nearly beating Miami and Louisville. It can be something to build off of for next year.

12. Wake Forest (4-6)- Last week: 12

It felt like yesterday was a great opportunity for Wake Forest to get their fifth win of the year, but the NC State defense bottled up the Demon Deacons offense. Now, Wake must win against Notre Dame and Syracuse to end the season and that seems unlikely.

11. Syracuse (5-5)- Last week: 13

Give credit to Syracuse, they were able to scrap together a win against a terrible Pitt team and is one win closer to bowl eligibility. They will have to beat either Georgia Tech or Wake Forest to get there, but a bowl game birth might be enough to save Dino Baber's job.

10. Miami (6-4)- Last week: 6

I think Miami has a really good defense and offensive line, but their quarterback situation is keeping them from being among the top tier of the ACC. The Hurricane's defense did a solid job against Florida State's high-powered offense, but their offense could not get enough done. Freshman quarterback Emory Williams suffered an injury at the end of the game and Tyler Van Dyke had to come in and proceeded to throw an interception. Miami has games against Louisville and Boston College.

9. Georgia Tech (5-5)- Last week: 8

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King against Clemson
Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

It was a tough day for Georgia Tech against Clemson. The Yellow Jackets offense could not move the ball against the Tiger's elite defense and Clemson converted seemingly every third and fourth down they faced. Georgia Tech is in a must-win situation against Syracuse next week at home to get to a bowl game, especially with Georgia coming up at the end of the year.

8. Boston College (6-4)- Last week: 7

Boston College had a bad day yesterday. Their defense was helpless against Kyron Drones and Virginia Tech and the Hokies nearly put 50 points on the Eagle's defense, Drones had 200 yards passing and over 100 rushing. The Eagles have been able to bounce back from a rough start to get to a bowl game, but that was not the kind of performance this team wanted to have yesterday.

7. Virginia Tech (5-5)- Last week: 10

The Hokies were coming off of a blowout loss to Louisville, but they responded well yesterday, blowing out Boston College and getting one step closer to bowl eligibility, which would be a good goal for this tea, in Brent Pry's second season. Quarterback Kyron Drones has been playing well and put together his best performance of the season yesterday against the Eagles, throwing for over 200 yards and rushing for over 100.

6. Clemson (6-4)- Last week: 9

Credit to Clemson for getting up and getting off the mat after losing to NC State and Miami. The Tigers did not give Georgia Tech a chance yesterday and dominated the game from the start. Their defense is playing really well right now and Cade Klubnik was able to throw for four touchdowns in the blowout win. Clemson finishes with North Carolina and South Carolina this season.

5. Duke (6-4)- Last week: 4

It is hard to drop Duke too far considering their injuries and the teams below them. They went into Chapel Hill yesterday and played a really good game against North Carolina that went to multiple overtimes, but Mike Elko's team could not get it done on the road (and there were some really bad calls in that game as well). This team is really well coached and if Riley Leonard had not gotten hurt, who knows where they could have ended up.

4. NC State (7-3)- Last week: 5

NC State has one of the best defenses in the country and it has allowed NC State to win games despite having one of the worst offenses in the ACC and they showed that yesterday in the win against Wake Forest yesterday. Dave Doeren continues to show why he is one of the most underrated coaches in the country and the Wolfpack have an outside shot to win 10 games this season. The Wolfpack have games against Virginia Tech and North Carolina left.

3. North Carolina (8-2)- Last week: 3

The Tar Heels were fortunate to escape with a win against rival Duke yesterday, but they did and kept their slim hopes of making the ACC title game alive. They need some help, but there is a path for the Tar Heels to get there. The defense continues to struggle however and that could be a big issue on the road at Clemson next week.

2. Louisville (9-1)- Last week: 2

A win is a win and Louisville is still in control of their own destiny in the ACC. The Cardinals did not play particularly well on Thursday against Virginia, but they still have everything in front of them. The defense is still playing well this season and they are going to be facing a bad Miami offense on Saturday. One more win and Louisville is in the ACC Championship game against Florida State.

1. Florida State (10-0)- Last week: 1

Florida State scored a win over their rivals yesterday, but there is reason to think there could be concern when they face better teams in the college football playoff (if they get there). The Seminoles lost the battle at the line of scrimmage in my opinion and could not put Miami away yesterday, despite being a two-touchdown favorite. FSU is still a very good team and I am nitpicking here, but they showed some vulnerabilities yesterday, even if I did not think Miami had a great chance of winning.